Optimal Wood Length for an EKO 60 = 14"!

[rickh1001]

I have played around with wood lengths from 16 - 24+" for the EKO 60, which has a 30" chamber length. Contrary to the seemingly obvious idea (to me) of longer lengths up to the chamber size being better, the longer wood tended to bridge. So I went shorter, and all I can say is, the last two cords I got in I told the supplier to cut it to 14". At that length, it looks almost like wood chunks, and it almost isn't worth stacking. However, I can fit two rows into the chamber, or I can put it cross-ways, or even vertical, with no issues at all. All I can say is, shorter is better. I have eliminated any bridging issues, and I can fill the firebox any which way I choose with no problems.

I am starting to think now if I cut it even shorter, say <<12". The wood starts to become more like some bulk fuel. With this last load of 14" wood, I started to stack it, then gave up, as the random pile on the floor was just about as efficient as stacking it, plus I will burn it up in a month or two anyway. I am starting to think about wood bins, holding the material in, rather than going through the stacking routine. Once you start to get below 12-14" in wood length, it starts to all look like chunks, or very large pellets, that you can handle randomly. I wonder what it would look like to cut all the wood into 6-8" inch lengths, and almost shovel it into the boiler?

 

[Dave T]

I agree with the longer chunks bridge more I've been burning 18" splits and doing fine but I got into a pile of wood that I cut longer and got real bridging for the first time, where there is plenty of wood but I arrived to a no fuel light and a cold boiler 14" pices does sound like it makes sence I'll have to try that thanks for the idea..Dave

 

[tuolumne]

That has me thinking...I can fit 22" in my 40, but it bridges really bad. 18-20" seems optimal, because shorter lengths leave too much space front and rear. This allows the fire to blaze up too fast during loading. Maybe I need to go enough shorter to get wood in in multiple directions. Shorter is easier to split but more work to handle.

 

[Sizzler]

What seems to work well in my 60 are 16-18" pieces all pushed to the back of the chamber and then some odd ends and short length pieces from the pile laid crossways to fill the void in the front of the box. I cut everything 22-24" for my boiler but won't get into that pile until next season. The problem with short wood is the extra handling involved and the stacks tend to be less stable. On the other hand, the shorter cut wood probably dries quicker and splits with less effort...... Can't win.

 

[Duetech]

Now that you've done the testing boiler man maybe I can make use of that for my 40. Placing 2 eight or ten inch pieces on the splitter would work too. I have burned chunks with pretty good results and no bridging. The bin thing sound reasonable if you have the space but then you could stack in a bin as well. I will keep that in mind as I am building my boiler/tank/wood shed. Thanks for sharing...

 

[Jeff S]

My current conventional boiler will only handle wood that is 17",so most of my wood is cut 12" -16",I just ordered a EKO 25 from Cozy Heat which will accept 20 " logs but I was planning on continuing cutting to shorter lengths since I split by hand - the shorter the better.Often when I get into some tough splitting Elm I will cut even shorter.I have thought about the bin idea for short wood perhaps even some small corn crib style building with air coming from all sides and bottom.